


Locking Eyes, Holding Hands

by Thebonemoose



Series: Magnus and Lukas (beans and books, babey!) [7]
Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Canon typical levels of creepy Jonah Magnus, Multi, Oblivious Jonathan Sims, Pining Martin Blackwood, canon typical levels of lotion, coffee shop/bookstore au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:49:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23885479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thebonemoose/pseuds/Thebonemoose
Summary: Jon feels left out, and has an enlightening conversation with Georgie. Basira gets a new job. Martin has a realization.
Relationships: Basira Hussain/Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Georgie Barker & Jonathan Sims, Georgie Barker/Melanie King, Jonathan Sims & Alice "Daisy" Tonner, Martin Blackwood & Jonathan Sims, Martin Blackwood/Jonathan Sims, Sasha James/Tim Stoker, The Admiral & Jonathan Sims
Series: Magnus and Lukas (beans and books, babey!) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688632
Comments: 54
Kudos: 213





	Locking Eyes, Holding Hands

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I was only going to post the fifth and sixth in this series today, but then I started writing, and um. Here we are. 
> 
> If you're new, I highly recommend going back to the beginning of the series, in order to understand... any of it. 
> 
> If you're a regular, welcome back. Our specials today include Georgie being a good friend and Jon choosing to be vulnerable in order to reap the rewards of being loved (platonically.)
> 
> This title is from This Year by the Mountain Goats, which is a real [chef's kiss] of a song.

There seemed to be a sharp increase lately of random comments from strangers about Jon’s relationship status.

First, Nikola had pelted him with a bottle of lotion and demanded that he use it or “he would never find someone to love him.” Jon tried not to take offence. 

Martin had valiantly tried to stand up for Jon, but Nikola shot him the fiercest, widest, and most menacing grin Jon had ever seen, and Martin was nearly bowled over from the impact. She’d turned back to Jon and commanded him to moisturize. 

So he did, feeling a bit like a Doctor Who villain the entire time, and ignoring the complaints of the customer he was neglecting to do so. 

Nikola had smiled, blew him a kiss, and told him to keep the lotion as a wedding present. Then she winked at Martin and walked out, presumably to her own store. 

Jon had been too slippery to finish the drink he was making, so Martin had to take over, embarrassingly. 

Jon was keeping up with the moisturizing, though. Nikola was terrifying, but her skin care tips were top-of-the-line, and some dark, secret part of Jon liked having Tim be jealous of him. 

After Nikola had been Annabelle, saying more vague, menacing things about romance, then Jane, and Manuela, and Jared, and Trevor-- even Michael. _Michael._

It was becoming very stressful. 

It had taken off around the shop, as well. Once he’d seen Gertrude and Gerry point towards him and snicker, which-- well, that just brought back truly awful memories of his adolescent years, didn’t it?

Georgie and Melanie sometimes said things, too. Not nearly as distressing as the things some of the customers had said, but still. Not necessarily Jon’s favorite conversation points, either. 

They would probably stop if he asked them to, he knew. But he wasn’t sure if he wanted them to stop. Above all, he just wanted to know what they _meant_. 

For fuck’s sake, Jon just wanted to be in on the joke. 

He wouldn’t say that out loud, though. He had too much pride for that. 

At least Martin hadn’t made fun of him for being single yet. He seemed to know what the others were talking about, but he hadn’t said anything himself. Jon took solace in that. 

The shop door opened, bringing Jon back to himself. Through it walked two sturdy-looking delivery men who, while not identical, gave the impression of being utterly indistinguishable from each other. _Like two parts of the same whole_ , Jon thought. 

Martin walked towards them and welcomed them in. Jon was dimly aware of them introducing themselves as Breekon and Hope, speaking in bad cockney accents and generally making the entire coffee shop two degrees more uncomfortable. 

Martin came back to the counter, holding a package in his hand. “That was odd,” he said, and Jon realized that Breekon and Hope had left already. 

“That’s all they left?” Jon questioned, and Martin nodded, bewildered. “Why did that require two people to deliver?” he asked.

“I’ve no idea,” Martin mumbled, frowning at the manila envelope in his hand. 

Jon raised his eyebrow. “Who’s it for, Martin?”

Martin’s eyes snapped up to his. “Hm? Oh, it- it’s, um, it’s for Jonah,” he said, then grimaced. 

Jon took in Martin’s clear discomfort and made a decision. “I’ll take it up to him,” he volunteered.

“Oh, that’s okay Jon, you really don’t have to--”

Jon put up a hand, and Martin trailed off. “It’s alright, Martin.”

Martin nodded slowly, and placed the envelope in Jon’s hand. “Um… Good luck?” Martin said, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. 

Jon smiled. “Thank you, Martin.”

Then Jon walked down the long and dark hallway that housed the offices of Elias, James, and… Jonah. 

Jon raised a hand and knocked on the mahogany door. 

“Enter,” a voice said, and Jon heaved the door open. Inside was Jonah Magnus, his hands folded on top of his desk, his expression coolly disinterested.

“Hello, Jonathan,” he said, his tone all at once saccharine and attentive. His eyes seemed to brighten as they landed on Jon. 

“Jonah,” Jon replied evenly. He carelessly tossed the envelope onto Magnus’ desk, and didn’t step further into the oddly dim room than he had to. “Delivery for you.”

“I see,” Jonah said, glancing down at the envelope. “Thank you for handing it to me personally,” he added, smiling. 

Jon’s stomach turned. “Yep. Goodbye,” he said, and turned on his heel. He quickly walked out of that long hallway and felt more human with each step he took. 

When he had re-entered the coffee shop he took a moment to shake his head, and pictured all remnants of his interaction with Jonah flinging off of him like water droplets.

Martin was at his side in an instant. “Are you alright? How did it go?” Martin asked, gripping Jon’s arm with his hand. 

“It was fine. Jonah was… Jonah,” Jon said. Then he shuddered. “I hate going into Jonah’s office. It feels like walking into the belly of the beast.”

Martin nodded, a dark look in his eyes. “You know what Tim said to me one time? He said ‘I’m not afraid of him, I just hate talking to him because he sucks so much.’”

Jon snorted. “I know the feeling.”

They returned to work afterwards, but Jon felt like he was being watched for the rest of the day. 

“Knock-knock!” Georgie said cheerfully, then entered the breakroom where Tim, Sasha, and Jon were all sitting. “I’ve brought a gift for you, Jon,” she told him, then deposited the Admiral directly onto his lap. 

“Thank you,” he said, although it came out slightly muffled, because his face was pressed into the Admiral’s fur. 

“How’s it going, all?” Georgie asked as she settled, and stole a carrot from Tim’s lunch. He glared at her, but she remained unfazed. 

“Can’t complain. How are you, Georgie? How’s the set going?” Sasha asked, leaning forward.

Georgie shrugged. “It’s alright. Obviously they want me to work full time, but I get paid enough for the few days I do. Plus, who wants to be on a movie set full time? It’s way too chaotic,” she said, waving her hand dismissively.

“Does it stress you out?” Tim asked. 

Jon scoffed. 

Sasha looked over at him curiously. “Is something funny, Jon?” she asked.

Jon nodded. “Georgie isn’t afraid of anything.”

Tim cooed. “I love that you still think so highly of each other even though you broke up years ago,” he said, clutching his hand to his chest. 

Georgie laughed, and Jon shook his head. “No, this isn’t me thinking highly of Georgie-- although I do,” he rushed to say. “This is a provable fact. Georgie isn’t afraid of anything. She doesn’t get scared, she doesn’t get stressed.”

Tim and Sasha both frowned and looked to Georgie, who nodded easily.

“This isn’t like, a prank, right?” Sasha asked, looking between Jon and Georgie. “You’re being serious?”

Georgie nodded again. “I had a traumatic event before I met Jon, and then I was depressed for several months, and afterwards I couldn’t feel fear. I mean, cognitively, I can tell when things are scary, but I have no physiological or emotional response to them.”

Sasha gazed at Georgie, her eyes wide. “Have you gotten a brain scan? Or talked to doctors about this?”

Georgie nodded. “I’m a medical marvel, doll,” she said, and mimed firing a gun at Sasha. 

Sasha, for her part, looked like she’d just won the lottery. “B-but, I mean-- you can feel the other emotions perceived by the amygdala, right? You know, anger, sadness? All that is normal?” She asked eagerly. 

Georgie held her hands up. “That’s what the lab coats tell me.”

Sasha gaped. 

Tim leaned over to Jon. “Nerd Alert,” he stage whispered, and Jon rolled his eyes. 

“It made Georgie a very good roommate. She was never afraid of removing the spiders,” Jon said, and Georgie grinned. 

“Georgie, I don’t want to talk up all of your time here, but… would it be alright if I emailed you a list of questions? I understand if it isn’t, but I have to say, your experience is… Well, it’s utterly fascinating,” Sasha said in a rush, and Georgie nodded.

“Sure, Sash, I’ll hit you up.”

Sasha beamed, and returned to her tea. 

“As for the rest of you, how is life?” Georgie asked, turning to Tim and Jon. 

Jon didn’t hesitate. “People keep talking to me about the status of my love life. Still.”

“Oh?” Georgie asked, looking around. “Do tell.”

“There’s not much _to_ tell. Several customers have come in, asked me in passing if I’m dating anyone yet, then seeming _very_ disappointed when I tell them that of course I’m not.”

Tim and Sasha looked at each other, frowning. “I think Sasha and I should be getting back to work now. Georgie, lovely to see you, as always. Chat later, Jon,” Tim said, standing. Sasha went with him, and together they walked out of the breakroom. 

“Hm. Odd. Anyways, what else?” Georgie asked. 

Jon stared at the space Tim and Sasha had been in moments prior. “Hm? Oh, right. Well… really it reminds me a bit of the stuff you and Melanie say,” Jon said. 

Georgie frowned. “Does it bother you? What we say?” she asked seriously, and Jon sighed. 

“It doesn’t bother me that you’re joking about me, or… whatever. What bothers me is that I don’t understand what you’re talking about. It just… Well, I suppose it reminds me of all those times I was the butt of the joke,” Jon said quietly, and Georgie put her hand over his. 

“I’m sorry, Jon. I didn’t mean to make you feel that way,” she told him sincerely, and he squeezed her hand. 

“It’s alright, I’m not… I’m not angry.”

“It can still get to you without it making you angry,” she reminded gently, and he nodded.

“Thank you, Georgie,” he told her quietly. 

“Do you want to know why they’re all talking about you?” Georgie asked.

He didn’t hesitate. “Yes. I do,” he said easily. 

“They all think there’s a specific person you should be with, and this is their way of showing support for the cause.”

Jon frowned. “What? That is not at all what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

Jon exhaled. “Well, I suppose I assumed they were laughing at me because nobody wanted to date me.”

Georgie stifled a laugh. “Um. That’s not entirely true,” she muttered.

Jon froze. “What.”

“I am not at liberty to say anything more than that.”

Jon leaned closer to her. “Georgie, you have to tell me.”

She mimed zipping her lips closed and locking them.

“Is it someone I know?” he asked desperately. Georgie’s eyes widened. 

“Aha! It is!” he exclaimed. “Okay, if I guess correctly, will you confirm?”

“Mmm… No.”

“Is it Tim? He’s always confessing his love for me. Wait, it can’t be Tim. He wouldn’t have told me about Sa--- uh, _someone_ , otherwise,” Jon fumbled, narrowly avoiding disaster.

Georgie raised her eyebrow. 

“Okay, so it’s not Tim. I can rule out you and Melanie, obviously. It’s not Daisy or Basira, either,” he said, and Georgie frowned. 

“Why are you ruling out Daisy and Basira? You don’t think it could be one of them?”

Jon raised his eyebrows. “Is it one of them?”

Georgie pursed her lips. “Well… I didn’t say that.”

“That’s what I thought. Besides, neither Basira nor Daisy would go for me. I’m not either of their types,” he said easily. 

“What are their types?” Georgie asked. 

“Each other, probably.”

Georgie barked out a laugh. “Hah, nice one.”

Jon smirked. “Thank you. Anyways, I doubt it’s Sasha, she’s too smart for that. And it can’t be Martin,” he said easily. 

Georgie stopped him. “Explain why it isn’t Sasha or Martin.”

“Sasha and I are too similar to ever be viable partners.”

She frowned. “Why’s that?”

“...We have the same hamartia.”

Georgie exhaled. “At least you’re self aware.”

“Quite. And it couldn’t be Martin because he wouldn’t like someone like me,” Jon added matter-of-factly.

Georgie did not look convinced, but she didn’t press the matter. 

“Well, that leaves…” Jon blanched. “Elias.”

Georgie nodded slowly, her eyes full of emotion. “You did it. You cracked the case. It’s Elias. He’s been in love with you for years. He wants to elope to the American South and grow corn with you.”

Jon huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You could’ve just said it wasn’t Elias, Georgie, you didn’t have to be an ass about it.”

Georgie laughed. “Oh, Jon, if you knew what I knew, you would realize why I absolutely did have to be an ass about it.”

“Then I don’t understand who it is. If it was Jonah you would have told me immediately and helped me find a new identity,” Jon said decisively. 

“True. Which means that either your logic was flawed somewhere along the line, _or_ you need to expand your pool.”

“Alright. I’ll draft a list of everyone I know, then you can come over and I’ll go through them all one by one so I can gauge your reaction,” he said. 

Georgie shook her head fondly. “Whatever you think is best, Jon. I do have a proposition for you, however.”

Jon met her eyes. 

“Would you like to have the Admiral at yours tonight? As an apology from me for making you feel left out,” she said. 

Jon looked down at the feline sleeping peacefully in his lap. He looked up to Georgie, smiled, and nodded. 

Martin was returning books to their rightful places when he heard Basira’s voice.

“Elias! I don’t think we’ve met properly yet. My name is Basira Hussein. I’m interested in a position at the bookstore, are you the right person to talk too abo--”

Elias held up a hand. “Say no more! You’re hired.” Then he turned and left. 

Basira stared after him, frowning. 

Martin stepped closer to her. “You’re working here now?” He asked her. 

“Apparently,” she said, still looking into the direction Elias went. “I’m done being a cop, either way,” she said eventually, finally meeting Martin’s eyes.

He furrowed his brows. “You were a cop?”

Basira nodded. “Daisy and I both. She got out a few years back.”

Martin hummed. “What does she do now?”

Basira smirked as if something was funny. “Private contractor. She’s hired to find people.”

Martin didn’t hide his surprise. “Oh. Pay well, does it?”

She smiled. “It does when you’re as good at it as Daisy is.”

Martin raised his eyebrows. “Er... Anyways, glad to… have you on board?” he said, nodding at her. 

She clapped his shoulder. “Thanks, Martin. See you around.” 

Martin watched her leave, a bit… perplexed. He liked Daisy and Basira well enough, although he had to admit he didn’t quite understand their whole… ‘thing’. 

Either way, Sasha and Melanie would probably enjoy having another capable worker with them. 

Martin purposefully excluded Tim from that statement. 

He wondered if he would be called in to help train her. He hoped not. 

When he returned to the coffee shop after lunch, Jon looked at him excitedly. 

“Martin, did you hear?” he asked. 

Martin frowned. “Hear what?”

“Basira got a job at the bookstore! Daisy’s going to be around more, because-- well, you know how those two are,” he said, grinning. 

Martin swallowed thickly. It was hard to tear his eyes away from the sight of Jon so joyful. “That’s great,” he managed. “I’m glad you and Daisy will get to spend more time together.”

Jon’s smile softened, and Martin felt a sharp stab in his chest. 

Was that normal? Was that what other people felt when they were in lo--

Oh. 

Oh. Martin was in love. Martin loved Jon. 

The realization that had been so sharp and painful only moments ago suddenly softened, its edges smoothed and relaxed. It curled up in Martin’s body like a cat in a beam of sunlight. Content. Safe. 

“Are you alright, Martin?” Jon asked, concerned etched on his features. 

Martin forced himself to nod. “Yeah,” he said, breathless. “I’m… I’m perfect, Jon.”

This was good enough for Jon, apparently, because he sent Martin one last divine smile, and resumed his work. 

Meanwhile Martin was left staring after him, feeling both full and empty, lost and found all at once.

**Author's Note:**

> Boy howdy I can not even BEGIN to tell you how excited I am to write the last three installments. The next one is almost definitely going to be longer than this one so it's going to take me longer than like,,, 5 hours to update but I will leave you with sneak peak: It's going to cover a Halloween party at the shop, so look forward to that one. 
> 
> Thanks to my TMA chat for the idea for the series, and thanks to all of you lovely readers for your comments and kudos. It genuinely brightens up my day hearing what you all thought <333
> 
> EDIT: @grantaire-foudroye on tumblr made art of the Jon and Elias Corn farmers joke! It's very good, and can be found [here.](https://grantaire-foudroye.tumblr.com/post/626821176064376832/this-is-the-worst-thing-ive-ever-drawn-i-love-it)


End file.
